‘It looks like we are in Mussoorie or Ooty’: Inside the journey to the Asian Games shooting range

Picturesque: A rainbow arches over the Aichi Prefectural General Shooting Gallery ahead of the Asian Games shooting events near Toyota. | Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy

The journey to the Aichi Prefectural General Shooting Gallery is a two-hour bus ride from Nagoya that takes you nearly 670m up into the highlands around Toyota City.

As journeys to sporting venues go, it’s as scenic as it gets. Palm trees, urban landscapes and busy shipyards give way to idyllic hills, rolling white clouds, thick forests of massive evergreen conifers, Buddhist temples, lakes, crystal-clear streams and quaint, sloped-roofed kominka farmhouses amid the odd rice field.

“It looks like we are in Mussoorie or Ooty,” shooting coach Manoj Kumar says.

Altitude challenges

Mountain village: A quiet mountain village with traditional Japanese houses along the route to the Aichi Prefectural General Shooting Gallery near Toyota during the Asian Games. | Photo Credit: Jonathan Selvaraj

But picturesque as it is, the journey comes with its own headache, quite literally. For athletes, there’s the distance to be travelled and the umpteen hairpin bends they have to navigate along the way.

Things you might usually do on a long journey, such as playing mobile games, browsing the internet, reading or watching videos, are forbidden. The concern is that staring at a bright screen while travelling along the winding roads might lead to nausea. Not what you want at the range.

Scenic journey: Rice fields and mountain villages line the scenic route to the Aichi Prefectural General Shooting Gallery near Toyota during the Asian Games. | Photo Credit: Jonathan Selvaraj

Elavenil Valarivan said she listened to a playlist of English, Hindi and Tamil songs. She also carried a neck pillow to deal with any potential neck issues that might arise while driving around the mountainside. While Elavenil came through the experience with two silver medals to show for it, not everyone was as lucky.

Vidarsa K Vinod, who won a silver in the team event, was seen getting a massage to her neck from a team physio at the end of the day.

Spectator journey

Media persons don’t have to worry about such predicaments. The biggest issue on the first day at the range was a traffic jam caused by media and athlete vehicles halfway up the hill. This, in turn, forced an impromptu half-kilometre trek.

For spectators at the shooting events, the journey is a lot more challenging. While media persons and sportspersons get direct buses from the press centre and designated hotels, fans have no such luck.

Winding ascent: The bus winds its way up the forested roads to the Aichi Prefectural General Shooting Gallery. | Photo Credit: Jonathan Selvaraj

“It takes me three hours to get to the range,” sighs Manu Ravi, husband of Vidarsa. “I stay in Nagoya city so first I have to get to Nagoya Metro station, take a train to Fushimi, then take another metro to Akaike, then take another train to Toyotashi. From there I have to take another bus to Onuma. That’s another 30 stops away, “ he says.

But his journey isn’t done just yet. There’s another 12km to cover, and his only option is to take a taxi. “It cost me 7000 rupees but it was worth it because I got to see Vidarsa win a medal in person and not on TV!” he says.

Electricity conservation

The Aichi Prefectural General Shooting Gallery is stunning. Originally built in 1993, it was renovated ahead of the Asian Games. It’s being used for these Asian Games because it is one of Japan’s largest comprehensive shooting facilities, with rifle, pistol and shotgun ranges on the same premises. What it apparently lacks, though, high up in the mountains, is a strong enough supply of electricity. Media persons were told to limit the number of devices they kept on charge in order not to overload the system. It also means that the electric kettle normally used to brew the endless cups of coffee that keep you going through a multi-event Games is missing. If you need hot water, it’s rationed out a cup at a time by a volunteer.

Lush highlands: A stream winds through the lush hills and forests along the route to the shooting range. | Photo Credit: Jonathan Selvaraj

No sign no problem

The Aichi-Nagoya Games have got a massive rap for accommodation issues faced by players, with officials sticking by the rules even when it’s clear that they aren’t working. Just ahead of the women’s 10m final, this journalist found himself a seat in a section that had a sign that mentioned it was for media persons, spectators and athletes. However, he was told by a volunteer that he needed to move since the section was only for spectators. The volunteer was triumphantly shown the signboard, which clearly said that media was allowed in the designated section. In response, the volunteer calmly picked up the sign, took it away and told this defeated journalist that this was indeed only a spectator area.

Published on Sep 21, 2026

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